Robberbaron

REALLY nice! It all works together.

Great that they are letting people know where they're at in the process. I believe I placed my order right after they opened the site back up in May, so I might be getting mine soon. Trying to not get too giddy.

While Jesse didn't specifically say, when most people refer to an "AMC 6 cylinder", it's understood to be the AMC-designed straight 6 family of engines that debuted in the mid-sixties, and continued in production for certain Jeeps until about 10 years ago, I believe. This is an inline (straight) 6 design, totally different than the Buick V6. Kaiser-Jeep did buy the rights to the Buick V6, but when AMC bought the Jeep brand, they switched over to the AMC I-6. In fact, I'm not sure if AMC actually bought the rights to the Buick V6. Kaiser Corporation may have retained ownership after they spun Jeep off to AMC. Since Jesse stated that he wants to build a 6 cylinder Gremlin, were definitely talking about the AMC I-6. I agree that the recently reissued MPC Pacer is probably the best choice. The AMT Pacer wagon also has an I-6 (also just reissued), but it doesn't seem quite as nice.

Try this link: http://www.collectormodel.com/amt/3431-amt-model-kits-1964-dodge-330-color-me-gone/#sthash.c2VVnnLd.dpbs Interesting that they're throwing in most of the newly tooled parts from the Lawman Plymouth. Strange thing is that almost all of these parts were already tooled previously by Lindberg for all their different variations of the '64 Dodge. I'm no Mopar expert, but I believe those Plymouth dog dish hubcaps aren't correct for a '64 Dodge. Ironically, I believe the original street stock Lindberg '64 Dodge (the one with the slant 6 option) does have the correct factory hubcaps.

Hardest thing for me to get past on these Monogram Chevelles is the wacky front grille. The whole appearance is way off from a factory stock '66 Chevelle, especially the raised center area between the headlights. Worse yet, the grille bars in the center section aren't even horizontal! You can even see it on the "Street Rat" box art above, with the red car. Think someone had one too many lunch beers the day they cut the tooling for that grille! Interesting thing is that the black box art car above seems to have a better looking grille, much closer to stock. Wonder if the original 197x issues had a better grille, and at some point the tooling was poorly repaired/reengraved? I can say definitively that the Malibu SS version (molded in black, tunnel ram, Super Trick wheels) that I bought around 1992 has the lousy grille shown on the red car above. I suppose you could argue that it represents a custom tube grille (it's a '70s street machine, after all). Otherwise, blacking out the grille bars would probably help hide a lot of the sins. My original plan was to build something "closer to stock" out of it, but once the Lindberg '66 came out, there was no point in doing that anymore..

Also patiently waiting for my order from May. I'm one of those guys that always thought of ordering from them, but never got around to it until it was "now or never" time. Like many others, I've since thought of several additional items I should have ordered before the final window closed. I'll still be happy to get what I have in the queue, when it's my turn.

My older brother also started building glue kits around that time. He built several of the Countdown and Cruisin' USA cars, as well. I remember thinking how cool some of those subjects were, so I was pretty excited when Ertl began reissuing most of them.

One additional comment, a 7 to 8 year gap between reissues doesn't seem too unusual, historically speaking. Many of the classic AMT kits that Ertl began to reissue in the mid 1980s were previously available probably about 8 years before in the Countdown and Cruisin' USA series. I remember being happy back then when they reissued the '65 Riviera, I couldn't have cared less that it had been available in the late '70s. Wasn't too happy with the bright yellow plastic, though..

Concur. I often wonder what would happen if, somehow, somewhere, someone found ALL of the classic Johan tooling (long thought destroyed), and then started reissuing all of the long sought Johan kits and X-EL promos. How long would it be before certain folks started complaining that the new company wasn't tooling anything new? Or at the very least, complain about the molded in chassis detail and inaccurate engines in many of those classics. If Round 2 had not ridden to the rescue (what, about 8 years ago?), it seemed very likely that all of the AMT and MPC tooling would end up similar to the Johan situation. And you can bet there would be plenty of people longing for these very kits that are now being panned for being reissued, again. Round 2 purchased the AMT and MPC production rights (and eventually the tooling itself) strictly because of the enormous tooling catalog. They are getting to the point where they are again reissuing some of the kits they put out 7 or 8 years ago. I bet they are choosing those specific kits because they sold well last time. Kits such as the '49 Ford are including additional tampo printed tire options and retooled wheels. And it's not all the "same old reissues". For each of the last several years, Round 2 has also been bringing back kits that haven't been available for 30 to 40 years, such as the Gremlins, Pacers, Squad Rod Nova, and some of the show rods. You might not LIKE what they're reissuing, but you can't honestly state that it's all the same stuff they've been making for the last 30 years. I personally question how well the AMT branded '64 Dodge will sell, for all the reasons already stated. But I also agree that Round 2 is counting on the general public to buy 99% of them, not the lunatic fringe like us (who know better).

I agree, beautiful job on the civilian conversion, and also detailing the police version. I also have a couple of these that I have similar plans for. Chepp is correct regarding the 2-door sedan Century body style. As far as I can tell the main visual differences between the Century and Special 2-door sedans were 4 portholes vs. 3 on the front fenders, and the badges on the quarter panels. Just eyeballing Google images, it looks like the porthole spacing for both models is the same, the Century just has one additional above each front wheel well. I think filing off the front porthole on each of the fenders would result in the correct Special appearance. That's my eventual plan for at least one of mine, along with creating the door trim like you did. As far as I can tell, I don't think there was a wheelbase difference between the 2 models, not positive though. If that's the case, it would be easy enough to bolt a set of Century fenders onto a Special sedan in 1:1, so in my book your blue/white version is easily possible in full scale. (Or just consider that the CHP versions would have been repainted after they were auctioned off for civilian use.)

I got the recent reissue '75 (?) Dart Sport a year or two ago. Just eyeballing it after I purchased it, but it seemed like the Hemi was quite underscale.

Wow, this brings back memories! My older brother got these X-EL price lists. I remember looking over it and wishing I had the funds for pretty much all of them. Alas, being in junior high, all my lawn-mowing earnings were already stretched thin purchasing regular off-the-shelf kits. My brother did end up getting several of the ones on this list, including the black/red '58 Olds, the burgundy '57 Olds, and the pink '58 Caddy. Also interesting to seeing which Johan kits were still available at this time. I'm thinking the Rebel Machine and Pro Stock Maverick must have been discontinued shortly after this. I clearly remember having both of those on my "future buy" list around this time, but they disappeared from the LHS shelves before I could get them.

My HL also still has the roadsters, so I picked up a second. My original plan was to buy multiples of the '30 coupe since that had the extra set of Halibrands in it, so in my book it would have been better for the parts trove. But at this point, I'm thinking grab the roadsters while they're still available. My HL also never got the '30 in stock, though they had an open space reserved on the shelf for a few months for it until recently. No way for us to know exactly what parts of the tooling are damaged, but I agree that it would be nice to see them correct some of the shortcomings if they're cutting new tooling for the nailhead (port spacing/headers) and the coupe interior (skeleton interior panels). And if they need to redo the coupe body, PLEASE get rid of that Deuce-style roof insert! I realize that it was a deliberate decision by Revell's design team, but in my book it just makes sense to have a stock style roof. I also realize that this is all probably wishful thinking. Quickest and dirtiest way to get these kits back in production would be to duplicate the existing tooling exactly, which is what I expect will happen...

Doh! 100% correct, for whatever reason I was reading Fury but picturing the Dart.

Just remember that the body for the '62 Fury got hacked up to use in the Revellion funny car (although it's actually not butchered as badly as some other classic tools were). Badges and trim remained intact on the body. Even if the remainder of the annual version does still exist (interior, glass, chassis, etc.), you've got to wonder if Revell would ever be willing to restore the body. After all, it is a 4-door. I do believe the roofline was shared with the 2-doors, so theoretically they could convert it to a 2 door hardtop, or even a post car, but now your getting into the realm of "is it any cheaper than just creating a new tool from scratch?"

Testors used to make a Candy Pink that looked EXACTLY like that when sprayed over black. Back in the '80s my brother had a can he wasn't going to use, so he gave it to me. When sprayed over white or silver it was a very bright sort of magenta shade (they may have called it candy purple, but it definitely was closest to pink). Being young and poor, I was dead set on using it, so I decided to spray it over Testors black on a Johan Comet Pro Stock kit. Turned out the way you describe: looked black under normal light, unless it was next to one of my pure black models. You could also see the plum effect if it was in bright sunlight. I was quite pleased with the results at the time, and it was one of my favorite builds. Later in the '90s I decided to blow it apart and try to rebuild it closer to factory stock (the nose up stance was totally out of vogue in 1:1 at the time). Stripped the body in Pine Sol, and everything has been sitting in a box ever since. Now I wish I would have let it be...

REALLY like this one! Great build of a sweet car that's seldom seen in 1:1, much less in scale. You and your dad can be proud of these.

Beautiful job. Don't think I've ever seen one of these before. Sure looks like a Chrysler Airflow.

I'll chime in while being no help at all, and remind everyone about the old multi-piece body Revell '57 Ranchero, which...also has the front guards. Although, if you do want a rear bumper with the correct short guards for the wagon, the Ranchero does have those. So if you have one of those buried in your stash, there's finally something you can use out of it...

Think the first gen Olds Rocket topped out at 394 c.i., so that would be possible too. As Marc said, could be any of those displacements. Since this kit was designed in the early-to-mid '60s, starting with a 394 would have been the hot ticket in a 1:1, with a 371 the next choice. Also keep in mind a 1:1 engine could be bored and or stroked to increase the factory displacement, so there's really no definite answer. (I have no idea what kind of rules/limitations there might have been in the gas classes regarding displacements and the altering of such)

Sure it's not the other way? First issue of the wagon (police/stock) had the guards on the front, none on the rear. Box art for the gasser seems to show the blue/white stock version still with front guards. When Revell was originally showing test shots of the wagon, they were using the original sedan version of the rear bumper, with the taller guards. It was pointed out that 1:1 wagons had shorty bumper guards to prevent damage to the tailgate. Revell listened (kinda): their version of a fix was to just get rid of the rear guards altogether. Some people prefer that look, but it's not factory. I compared the trees from my sedan and wagon kits, and it looked like they just smoothed out the rear bumper from the sedan instead of tooling a separate wagon bumper. If the rear bumper in the gasser wagon does have guards, are they the correct short style? I'm also curious if the next reissue of the sedan will have any rear guards.

Yup. Luckily in 1/25 that's pretty much a non-issue. Not sure about 70-72, but for the 73-77 generation all the round gauge cluster surrounds were molded with the "camera case" pattern, which was GM terminology for a leather appearance. You're correct that for the SS models, this was just molded in black - no woodgrain. The Montes did have that woodgrain overlay glued over it (seems almost like those overlays are vacuformed). Same for the Malibu Classic and I believe the 74-76 Laguna Type S-3. I once tried to pop the woodgrain overlay off a Monte gauge surround because I thought it would look better in my Malibu with just the black leather grain finish. Learned the hard way that they used some tough adhesive for those. Couldn't find a way to get it off the plastic without destroying it. Eventually I lucked out and stumbled across a 74 El Camino SS 454 in a local junkyard and scored a perfect gauge surround, probably the only decent part left on the whole truck...

Any of the Chevelle SS kits should already have the round gauge package that was shared with the Monte Carlo, and I'm assuming, the El Camino SS (as opposed to the basic Chevelle/El Camino gauge package with the "strip" speedometer). Monte Carlos always shared the same dashboards as their equivalent Chevelle/Malibu/El Camino, and always had the round gauge arrangement like the Chevelle SS (I believe full instrumentation with tach, ammeter, etc. was a separate additional option though, same as the Montes). Same goes for the 73-77 generation. El Camino SS had round gauges standard. Full instrumentation was optional for lesser El Caminos (was a pretty common option). Starting in 1975, the Econominder package offered a vacuum gauge in place of the tach. The tach was still available, but very seldom ordered.

I agree, lots of difficulties in trying to mash up an accurate looking '70 Elco from these different kits. I think I agree with Mark and Steve, best to keep most of the '68 fenders intact and just swap the front portion of whatever your 1970 donor kit would be. Not only are the 1970 El Camino (and 1970 wagon) fenders missing the "bulges" that the 1970 Chevelle coupes and sedans had, the lower portion of the Elco fender has a body line indent thats different from the '70 coupe, in order to match up with the 68/69 style doors and quarters that got carried over. The '70 coupes and sedans DO have a lower body line somewhat similar, but it's not as sharp as the 68/69 style. In a similar fashion, the 1970 El Camino front fenders also have a lip around the wheel opening, again to match with the rear wheel openings of the 68/69 style quarters. The 1970 Chevelle coupe/sedan wheel openings do not have a lip stamped into the sheetmetal. This is a bit hard to notice on a Chevelle with wheel well moldings, but if you compare 1970 Chevelle and El Camino images, the difference should be pretty obvious. I think making the cut right in front of the front wheel well is the best way to preserve all these elements of the '70 front fenders. Another complication that Mark already mentioned is that the new tool AMT '68 Elco is a bit wider than it should be. Over the years I've seen several discussions where the agreement was that this kit is larger than 1/25, and possibly actually closer to 1/24. The front end is significantly wider than the AMT 69 Chevelle front bumper/grille assembly, which of course SHOULD swap on in the 1:1 world. So maybe the old Monogram 1/24 front end would be the best fit? I agree that the Revell Snap kit is the best looking 1970 Chevelle kit available. To me it's the only one that gets the nose and the fender/quarter bulges correct. The old 1/24 Monogram and the backdated AMT both don't seem to have the proportions quite right for the front end. Can't say exactly why each of them looks wrong, they just have the "Fargo" problem: "They're just kinda funny lookin', in a general sort of way..."

I'm also glad to see this one coming back. I have a first issue stock-only version, but missed the 2 in 1 reissue during my brief modeling hiatus. By the time I learned about all the good stuff (2 complete engines, Supremes, etc.), they were gone from the shelves of my LHS. If I really NEEDED one I could have sought one out online, but nice to see it will be widely available again. I believe the old Round 2 website did show the Starliner as a 2008 release, so it has been 8 years. I don't mind them bringing it back. If the prices have crept up enough on the secondary market to indicate the demand is there, I have no problem with them making some (relatively) easy money. Also, speaking of newer designed kits getting the fake retro treatment, a couple more that I'm amazed that we hadn't seen from Round 2 Corp. yet are the '34 Ford 5-window and the '55 Chevy sedan. I recently picked up an original issue stock '34 5-window, and was surprised to learn it actually had some optional speed parts for the flathead that weren't listed on the box. If Round 2 were to reissue this one also including the street rod parts so that there are multiple build options, plus some retro box art, I think they would have a winner on their hands. I believe someone mentioned that one of the older RC2 reissues actually did include parts for both versions. If that's the case, that indicates that it's at least possible. For the '55 Chevy sedan, the key would be to include the gasser parts from the original '55 Nomad, including the straight axle, AND clearly indicate this on the box art! Gasser madness is the "in thing" right now, why not strike while the iron is hot? The '55 sedan really is just a highly modified variation of one of the original Trophy series kits. Slap some retro style gasser box art on that thing, and it'll sell itself, helped by the fact that it's the only game in town if you want a '55 sedan. http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/topic/101305-amt-55-chevy-bel-air-drag-version/